Schools still waiting for mental health services to start

A mental health service for Borders schoolchildren is still not up and running more than six months after council and healthcare bosses announced it would commence.

In October 2017, Scottish Borders Council awarded a £1.1m contract to social care charity Quarriers to deliver an emotional health and wellbeing service in the council’s nine secondary schools.

Two months later, the council and integrated joint health board released a statement saying the service would begin in early January, but the service is still not fully functional as schools head towards the summer break.

A Scottish Borders Council spokesperson said: “Quarriers is making good progress with implementation of the new service, including the development of staff team into schools and sourcing an office base in the central Borders. They have also been building relationships with partner agencies and linking in with key stakeholders.”